Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold"

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aramark has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.91.

Aramark Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:ARMK traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.43. 2,472,568 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,994,059. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.05. The firm has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.63 and a beta of 1.28. Aramark has a fifty-two week low of $29.92 and a fifty-two week high of $42.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. Aramark had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 1.97%. The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Aramark

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Aramark by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Aramark by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Aramark by 73.4% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 36,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 15,485 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Aramark by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 53,654 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Aramark in the 4th quarter valued at $1,070,000.

About Aramark

Aramark provides food and facilities services to education, healthcare, business and industry, sports, leisure, and corrections clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Food and Support Services United States, and Food and Support Services International. The company offers food-related managed services, including dining, catering, food service management, and convenience-oriented retail services; non-clinical food and food-related support services, such as patient food and nutrition, retail food, environmental services, and procurement services; and plant operations and maintenance, custodial/housekeeping, energy management, grounds keeping, and capital project management services.